...pivoting to focus on innovation. Still blogging about copyright and occasionally on digitization.

Monday, September 27, 2010

For New Yorkers: Report on the Meeting of the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries, Sept. 27

The Regents Advisory Council on Libraries (RAC) met by conference call this morning, rather than spending time/money to meet face-to-face. Below are my rough notes. These are not the official minutes from the meeting. If anyone on the call has a correction, please let me know. Questions (from anyone) are always welcome.

In attendance were members of the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries and several staff members from the State Library.Norm Jacknis, who is rejoining the Council was on also the call.

State Library Update - Loretta Ebert gave an update on the Research Library and Carol Desch gave an update on the Division of Library Development. The broadband initiative is helping to put libraries in the news - a good thing! Important capital budget requests are being developed (including library construction and broadband maintenance).

Research Library expects to open for Saturday hours beginning on Oct. 16 (9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.). The move has met with a number of challenges, including the budget, staff concerns, etc. At a time when people need libraries more than ever, it is felt that this is the right time to expand the hours. Patron communities have been very supportive of the move.

Downsizing at the State Library - Like other libraries across NYS, retirements as well as the budget's impact have led to downsizing at the State Library. The State Library is dealing with the impact of these and working to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of NYS residents.

Nylink - Nylink was retrenched by SUNY which effects three three areas of concern to this group:

Nylink maintained a contract with OCLC. Now rethinking/redoing the state contracts is a priority and must abide with State procurement regulations.

Nylink handled the land delivery service contract used by CUNYs, SUNYs and others. The remainder of the current contract has been reassigned. A group is meeting to discuss what to do after this contract ends.

Nylink handled the licensing of databases on a consortium basis. Consortial purchasing should be able to continue without Nylink.

NOVELny - There was a brief update on this. Please note that information on the NOVELny Steering Committee is available online.

Update on the Regents Commission on Library Services Recommendation - The State Library has compiled a 20-page draft document on what has occurred (or not) since the Commission issued its recommendations. The Council was asked to review the document and provide any comments/feedback.

The group discussed using a back-channel (e.g., Twitter) during the session to allow library staff members not at NYLA to participate in the event.

Shubert Award - The committee gave its report. The winner will be at the NYLA conference, and the award will be given then. The award was more broadly publicized this year, which brought in more applications!

School Library Services - RAC continues to be concerned about having certified school librarians in all elementary schools in well-maintained libraries. Studies continue to demonstrate that this has a positive impact of student learning.

Information Literacy Standards - While there are recognized AASL standards on information literacy, NYS has not adopted any standards on this.

The group discussed adding a conference call in June. A date for such will need to be found.

Your Thoughts? The Regents Advisory Council on Libraries is always seeking input from the library community. If you have thoughts to share or questions to ask, please contact any member of the Council.

No comments:

About Me

Jill Hurst-Wahl is an associate professor of practice in the Syracuse University School of Information Studies. She was the director its M.S. in Library and Information Science program (2012-2017). She is a member of the USNY Technology Policy and Practice Council (2009-president) and the OCPL Board of Trustees (2016-present). A former corporate librarian, Jill has always been an advocate for expanding the career opportunities for LIS graduates. Her interests include innovation, brainstorming, copyright, digitization, and social media.

Disclaimers

Google: This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services, to personalize ads and to analyze traffic. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies.

FTC Disclaimer: Digitization 101 is an Amazon affiliate and receives a small commission if you purchase a product or service from an Digitization 101 Amazon link.